Enhanced Interdepartmental Communications INTRODUCTION This study examined the

Carpet manufacturing operations in the United States shifted from Northeastern and Midwestern states to Southern states several decades ago as part of industry efforts to become more competitive. While this strategy was generally successful, the American carper manufacturing industry in the 1990s increasingly is being challenged by foreign competitors. Many American firms, when confronted with such situations, opt to relocate production facilities to developing countries. Shaw Industries, headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, however, implemented a different strategy the objective of which was to improve the productivity of its domestic production plants. The strategy adopted by the firm was a total quality management (TQM) program that emphasized to role of team work within the organization. Effective team work, in turn, demanded an enhanced interdepartmental communications environment.

While the assessment of the strategy within the context of changing productivity is a relatively straightforward procedure, such an assessment provides only a shortterm evaluation. What the top management at Shaw Industries required was an assessment of

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rship styles will vary between the extremes of task and relationships orientations, between authoritarian leadership and participative management, and between directive leadership and managementbyobjectives, to state but a few distinctions. The leader who is completely task oriented will likely make decisions which are geared to "getting the job done," regardless of the sociopsychological effect such decisions may have on the individual members of an organization. Conversely, the leader who is completely relationships oriented will likely make decisions which, while they avoid organizational conflict development, will often immobilize the organization from an economic perspective. The most successful leaders give consideration to both economic and social factors in decisionmaking. The balance between these two sets of values will vary between organizations and will vary within organizations over time. This balance depends upon the prevailing situation at any particular time. The transformational leadership style concept provides a slight departure from the leadership theory trend of the past three decades. Where all concepts of leadership recognize that successful leaders in any type of organization must work within a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Data Analysis, Management Studies, Publishing Co, Book Company, Edwards Deming, TQM TQM, Free Press, Venturing Winter, Systems Co, Management Journal, quality control, decisionmaking process, dependent variable, product quality, regression analysis, engineering management, correlation analysis, nominal decisionmaking, organizational subordinates, relationship variables, total quality management, enhanced interdepartmental communications, strength relationship variables, human resources management, involvement facet company's,
Approximate Word count = 6860
Approximate Pages = 27 (250 words per page)

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